What to watch for: Bills at Browns

An in-depth look inside the Bills-Browns matchup

BILLS MAKE TRIP CLEVELAND FOR PRIMETIMEThe Buffalo Bills will make the 194-mile trip for a Thursday Night Football match-up at the Cleveland Browns on October 3rd. Kickoff is set for 8:25 PM ET.Thursday night’s game will mark the 18th regular season meeting between Buffalo and Cleveland and the third primetime contest between the two AFC members.

With a win over the Browns on Thursday, the Bills will:• Win their third game in a row against Cleveland (2010 and 2012)• Improve to 4-2 all-time in Thursday Night games

BILLS-BROWNS REGULAR SEASON SERIES• Overall regular season record: 7-10• Bills on road at Browns: 4-5• Last meeting on road: 9/23/2012, W 24-14• First regular season meeting: 11/26/1972, L 10-27 at Cleveland• Last regular season meeting: 9/23/2012, W 24-14Buffalo will will host the Cincinnati Bengals at Ralph Wilson Stadium in a Week Six game on Sunday, October 13th at 1:00 PM ET.

BILLS-BROWNS SERIESBuffalo and Cleveland will meet for the 18th time in the regular season this week. The Bills are 7-10 in their previous 17 meetings against the Browns and have won each of the last two contests.

Thursday night’s game will mark the third regular season primetime game between the two teams, with the Bills and Browns splitting a pair of Monday night results.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONSFORMER BILLS/BROWNS• Cleveland RB Willis McGahee played for the Bills from 2003-2006 and was the team’s first round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.• Browns LB Tank Carder entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft selection of the Bills in the 2012 NFL Draft.• Cleveland S&C coach Brad Roll held the same position with the Bills from 2004-05.

NFL CONNECTIONS• Bills OT Erik Pears played with Browns DT Desmond Bryant in Oakland in the 2009 season.• Bills DE Mario Williams and Browns OL Rashad Butler were Houston Texans teammates from 2007-2011.• Bills K Dan Carpenter and Browns WR Davone Bess played together in Miami from 2008-2012.• Bills STC Danny Crossman and Browns OLB coach Brian Baker both served on the Carolina Panthers staff in 2009. Crossman held the same position, while Baker was the defensive line coach.• Crossman also coached with Browns ILB coach Ken Klajole in Carolina. Crossman was ST Asst. (2003-04) and STC (2005-09) while Klajole served as LB coach from 2003-08.• Crossman coached with Browns DQC coach Daron Roberts while in Detroit in 2009. Crossman served the same position, while Roberts was the assistant secondary coach.• Bills DB coach Donnie Henderson and Browns DL coach Joe Cullen were members of the Detroit coaching staff in 2006; Henderson as DC and Cullen as DL.• Bills OL coach Pat Morris coached with Browns Asst. S&C coach Chris DiSanto in Minnesota in 2007. Morris served the same position, while DiSanto served a strength and conditioning internship.• Bills OQC coach Kurt Anderson was coached by Browns OL coach George Warhop with Arizona in 2002

COLLEGE CONNECTIONS• Bills CB Stephon Gilmore competed alongside Browns P Spencer Lanning at South Carolina.• Bills LB Jerry Hughes played with Browns LB Tank Carder at Texas Christian from 2007-09.• Bills WR Robert Woods and DB Nickell Robey played with Browns TE Jordan Cameron at USC in 2010.• Bills G Kraig Urbik and Browns OL Joe Thomas anchored the offensive line at Wisconsin from 2004-06.• Bills DB Ron Brooks shared a locker room with Bills LB Barkevious Mingo at LSU from 2009-11.• Bills C Eric Wood anchored a Louisville offensive blocking force that also included Browns TE Gary Barnidge from 2005-06.• Bills LB coach Chuck Driesbach was the secondary coach while Browns QB Brian Hoyer was the quarterback at Michigan State from 2005-06.• Bills DQC coach Brian Fleury coached Browns LB D’Qwell Jackson at Maryland when he served as a graduate assistant from 2003-04.• Bills S Da’Norris Searcy and Browns WR Greg Little played together at the University of North Carolina from 2007-10.

WHAT TO LOOK FOROFFENSEQB EJ Manuel• Three touchdown passes to move into second among Bills rookie quarterbacks (Trent Edwards, 2007: 7)• 19 completed throws to move into third among Bills rookie quarterbacks (Dan Darragh, 1968: 92)• 60 passing yards to surpass Dan Darragh (917, 1968) for fourth-most among Bills rookie quarterbacks• 84 yards through the air to move into third among Bills rookie signal callers (Joe Ferguson, 1973: 939)• 144 passing yards to record 1,000 in his rookie season

RB C.J. Spiller• One 100-yard rushing game for his eighth such game and to break a tie for sole possession of eighth-most in team history (Antowain Smith, 7)• 86 receiving yards to record 1,000 in his career

RB Fred Jackson• One rushing touchdown to move into sole possession (22) for 10th most in team history• 13 rushing yards to record 4,500 in his NFL career

WR Stevie Johnson• Will extend his current streak of consecutive games with a catch to 53 with a reception on Thursday• Three catches to move into 11th in team history (Frank Lewis - 269)• 30 receiving yards to reach 3,500 in his career• 106 receiving yards to move into 10th in Bills history (Josh Reed: 3,575)

TE Scott Chandler• Two touchdown catches to match Reuben Grant (15) for third-most among Bills tight ends all-time• Four catches to record 100 in his NFL career

DEFENSEDE Mario Williams• 1.0 sacks to register 70.0 in his NFL career

DT Kyle Williams• 0.5 a sack to become the 11th Bill with 20 or more in their career